Abstract

The UK Government using experiences gained from other countries are driving through changes in the construction industry to improve efficiencies, reduce waste and improve value for money, therefore improving economic performance of the construction sector through “lean construction principles”. BIM has been identified as one of the approaches which could achieve this goal. However, this will require substantial changes to the way the industry works and how AEC organisations interact with the client and their supply chain. The UK Government has mandated that Level 2 BIM be a requirement, as a minimum, by April 2016 on all major public projects, and Level 3 by 2020. The NBS (2013) Report outlined a worrying picture of a divided industry, including lack of investment in BIM technology and training by some business’s and inertia / ignorance by others. However, the NBS (2015) Report recorded a year-on-year growth in adoption, but this year, noted a pause in BIM adoption. As a result the report noted that there remain a significant number of practices who do not see the advantages of BIM, and so choose not to adopt, or who are currently unable to adopt BIM because of time, cost or expertise.This paper considered this issue of a ‘divided industry’ by examining the industry’s BIM maturity levels and reviewing the current BIM adoption strategies required to close this divide. The literature review and electronic questionnaire survey, identified significant barriers to BIM adoption particular to AEC organisations. Obstacles included a lack of understanding of the BIM process, issues pertaining to intellectual property and liability issues with sharing information, investment and training costs as well as the long term cultural changes required to commit to this new collaborative way of working. Crucially this paper presents the key drivers for BIM adoption which encompassing client leadership, organisational structural changes, process driven agenda, flexible and competitive training and education. The key findings of this research, demonstrate that fundamentally the adoption of BIM for AEC organisations is strategically commercially critical. Furthermore this research shows that BIM’s implementation within AEC organisations that can best facilitate a greater integration of BIM across the supply chain.

title = "BIM Implementation Developments for Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Organisations in the UK",

abstract = "The UK Government using experiences gained from other countries are driving through changes in the construction industry to improve efficiencies, reduce waste and improve value for money, therefore improving economic performance of the construction sector through “lean construction principles”. BIM has been identified as one of the approaches which could achieve this goal. However, this will require substantial changes to the way the industry works and how AEC organisations interact with the client and their supply chain. The UK Government has mandated that Level 2 BIM be a requirement, as a minimum, by April 2016 on all major public projects, and Level 3 by 2020. The NBS (2013) Report outlined a worrying picture of a divided industry, including lack of investment in BIM technology and training by some business’s and inertia / ignorance by others. However, the NBS (2015) Report recorded a year-on-year growth in adoption, but this year, noted a pause in BIM adoption. As a result the report noted that there remain a significant number of practices who do not see the advantages of BIM, and so choose not to adopt, or who are currently unable to adopt BIM because of time, cost or expertise.This paper considered this issue of a ‘divided industry’ by examining the industry’s BIM maturity levels and reviewing the current BIM adoption strategies required to close this divide. The literature review and electronic questionnaire survey, identified significant barriers to BIM adoption particular to AEC organisations. Obstacles included a lack of understanding of the BIM process, issues pertaining to intellectual property and liability issues with sharing information, investment and training costs as well as the long term cultural changes required to commit to this new collaborative way of working. Crucially this paper presents the key drivers for BIM adoption which encompassing client leadership, organisational structural changes, process driven agenda, flexible and competitive training and education. The key findings of this research, demonstrate that fundamentally the adoption of BIM for AEC organisations is strategically commercially critical. Furthermore this research shows that BIM’s implementation within AEC organisations that can best facilitate a greater integration of BIM across the supply chain.",

N2 - The UK Government using experiences gained from other countries are driving through changes in the construction industry to improve efficiencies, reduce waste and improve value for money, therefore improving economic performance of the construction sector through “lean construction principles”. BIM has been identified as one of the approaches which could achieve this goal. However, this will require substantial changes to the way the industry works and how AEC organisations interact with the client and their supply chain. The UK Government has mandated that Level 2 BIM be a requirement, as a minimum, by April 2016 on all major public projects, and Level 3 by 2020. The NBS (2013) Report outlined a worrying picture of a divided industry, including lack of investment in BIM technology and training by some business’s and inertia / ignorance by others. However, the NBS (2015) Report recorded a year-on-year growth in adoption, but this year, noted a pause in BIM adoption. As a result the report noted that there remain a significant number of practices who do not see the advantages of BIM, and so choose not to adopt, or who are currently unable to adopt BIM because of time, cost or expertise.This paper considered this issue of a ‘divided industry’ by examining the industry’s BIM maturity levels and reviewing the current BIM adoption strategies required to close this divide. The literature review and electronic questionnaire survey, identified significant barriers to BIM adoption particular to AEC organisations. Obstacles included a lack of understanding of the BIM process, issues pertaining to intellectual property and liability issues with sharing information, investment and training costs as well as the long term cultural changes required to commit to this new collaborative way of working. Crucially this paper presents the key drivers for BIM adoption which encompassing client leadership, organisational structural changes, process driven agenda, flexible and competitive training and education. The key findings of this research, demonstrate that fundamentally the adoption of BIM for AEC organisations is strategically commercially critical. Furthermore this research shows that BIM’s implementation within AEC organisations that can best facilitate a greater integration of BIM across the supply chain.

AB - The UK Government using experiences gained from other countries are driving through changes in the construction industry to improve efficiencies, reduce waste and improve value for money, therefore improving economic performance of the construction sector through “lean construction principles”. BIM has been identified as one of the approaches which could achieve this goal. However, this will require substantial changes to the way the industry works and how AEC organisations interact with the client and their supply chain. The UK Government has mandated that Level 2 BIM be a requirement, as a minimum, by April 2016 on all major public projects, and Level 3 by 2020. The NBS (2013) Report outlined a worrying picture of a divided industry, including lack of investment in BIM technology and training by some business’s and inertia / ignorance by others. However, the NBS (2015) Report recorded a year-on-year growth in adoption, but this year, noted a pause in BIM adoption. As a result the report noted that there remain a significant number of practices who do not see the advantages of BIM, and so choose not to adopt, or who are currently unable to adopt BIM because of time, cost or expertise.This paper considered this issue of a ‘divided industry’ by examining the industry’s BIM maturity levels and reviewing the current BIM adoption strategies required to close this divide. The literature review and electronic questionnaire survey, identified significant barriers to BIM adoption particular to AEC organisations. Obstacles included a lack of understanding of the BIM process, issues pertaining to intellectual property and liability issues with sharing information, investment and training costs as well as the long term cultural changes required to commit to this new collaborative way of working. Crucially this paper presents the key drivers for BIM adoption which encompassing client leadership, organisational structural changes, process driven agenda, flexible and competitive training and education. The key findings of this research, demonstrate that fundamentally the adoption of BIM for AEC organisations is strategically commercially critical. Furthermore this research shows that BIM’s implementation within AEC organisations that can best facilitate a greater integration of BIM across the supply chain.